ADVERTISEMENTThe European Union has agreed to impose a new cycle of sanctions against Russia, threatening to slap another if the country continues to refuse the unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the White House and the “Coalition of devices”.
The big push comes under the name of Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenge Vladimir Putin sit for direct peace talks in Türkiye, a format approved by Donald Trump. So far, the Kremlin has not confirmed if the Russian president will actually go to Istanbul.
“I believe that if Putin does not arrive and plays games, it is the last point that he does not want to end the war,” said Zelenskyy.
The preliminary agreement on new sanctions, the 17th package since February 2022, was sealed on Wednesday morning at a meeting of EU ambassadors and should be officially approved by foreign ministers next week.
Hungary, a vocal critic of economic restrictions, which has almost this year blocked Their renewal did not oppose measures. The behind -the -side discussions between the Member States continued without major controversy, noted diplomats, a possible sign of the limited scope of the proposal.
“This war must end. We will keep high pressure,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
Again, the main target of sanctions is the “shaded fleet” that the Kremlin has deployed to bypass Western oil trade restrictions and maintain a source of income that is crucial to finance the large -scale invasion of Ukraine.
The fleet consists of not insured ships at the elderly suspected of deceptive practices, in particular by transmitting falsified data, by deactivating their transponders to become invisible and make several ship transfers to hide the origin of their barrels. Ships are also under control to commit sabotage against critical infrastructure.
Until now, the block has targeted 153 oil tankers from the “Shadow fleet”, which have all refused access to the ports and services of the EU.
The new sanctions add 189 ships, bringing the total number to just over 350.
Wednesday’s agreement also has black lists 75 individuals and businesses involved in the Russian military industrial complex and more than 30 companies, some of them in Kazakhstan, Serbia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (Water), suspected of having provided Moscow with double -use products that the West has prohibited, said diplomats.
It also prohibits exports of chemicals manufactured by the EU which can be used to produce missiles.
Europe’s ultimatum
The 17th package almost finished, Brussels is already looking at the next step.
The lack of progress on the diplomatic front has fueled calls through Europe to tighten economic pressure on Russia as a means of forcing Putin’s hand and making it accept a cease-fire. The Kremlin, however, has shown no desire to engage with this proposal.
“We can confirm that in the absence of a ceasefire, (…) We are examining additional sanctions,” said a spokesman for the committee on Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENTIn a speech at the end of the evening, French President Emmanuel Macron true Russian financial, oil and gas services, oil and gas are potential targets, in coordination with Washington.
The objective of Europe is to “make a thirty-day ceasefire on land, air and the sea to discuss the issue of territories and security guarantees,” said Macron.
But any new plan, especially if it is impactful, is about to deal with the resistance of Hungary.
While Budapest finally gave in and agreed to renew the existing sanctions, Brussels was struck by the race against the 24 years and is currently thinking about alternative methods to bypass the Vetos and ensure that the extended diet can remain in place.
ADVERTISEMENT“We explore all the options,” Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for the Economy said on Tuesday.
“These are difficult discussions, but so far, we have been able to agree on a large number of sanctions packages (…) via the procedure unanimously. We must therefore have all the tools and all the options on the table.”
Eleonora Vasques contributed the reports.
